


Poorly Wired Circuits

by trashyeggroll



Category: Charmed (TV 2018)
Genre: Angst, F/F, THIS IS A FIX-IT, grumbling into my keyboard, i'm about to be very dramatic in this chili's tonight, joyous reunions too, what even is canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-24
Updated: 2019-05-24
Packaged: 2020-03-09 09:07:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18913855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trashyeggroll/pseuds/trashyeggroll
Summary: Three flavors of mini-Fix-Its for our problematic faves, Niko Hamada and Mel Vera.





	1. Let it Go

**Author's Note:**

> Part 1: Canon Compliant closure  
> Part 2: Canon Divergent wedding drama  
> Part 3: Canon Divergent substantive communication and set up for season 2
> 
> :: gestures helplessly at everything ::

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Tryna fit your hand inside mine_   
>  _When we know it just don't belong_   
>  _There's no force on earth_   
>  _Could make it feel right, no_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can be reasonable. This chapter set to "Let it Go" by James Bay, NOT Idina Menzel.

It was an objectively beautiful day. After seeing what the world might look like mid-apocalypse, the quaint bustle of the street was like a balm—normal, healthy city noises. Traffic and street hustlers, people saying their hellos and their goodbyes. 

Given all of that, her first thought was that she should’ve scheduled the meetup at a different hour, or a different day. Maybe a day that was forecast gray and dreary, because the cheery sun didn’t fit the mood of Mel’s intent that day. But in the end, that was just another extension of her initial mistake—a thought of putting this off, for no decent reason. Going around what really needed to happen, thinking magic would be the answer to fastrack past these things. It wasn’t. 

It didn’t help that Niko Hamada looked better than she had in months, and not just because the engagement ring was missing from her left hand. She looked… settled. The pensive, even-keeled police officer Mel once knew. Brown leather jacket, gray v-neck, jeans, a sharp ankle boot hanging from where her legs were crossed. There were two coffee cups on the table, plus crumbs over Niko’s magazine and a bagel in a brown paper bag. Sesame—Mel’s preferred pick from the little outdoor diner.

The cautiously optimistic smile Niko was sending her way as she sat down certainly didn’t help either, and Mel’s chest twisted with a last gasp of indecision. Everything she’d wanted—Niko safe and happy—seemed to be as simple as reaching across the table, maybe taking her hand. 

But that wasn’t why she was there, and the memories that lingered in the back of her mind were intent on making the decision for her. Watching her mom die in Macy’s arms. Macy erasing her from the family, then herself. And of course, the near-ending of the world. What had happened to Galvin, that he had even been in that position—it was their fault, in the end: The Charmed Ones. She didn’t doubt for a moment that Niko would’ve made the same sacrifice, and ultimately that made her see, with more clarity than anything else in her life at the moment, that she could never keep Niko truly safe. 

So Mel sat, and she kept both hands tightly around her latte as Niko’s smile slowly faded. “Hey. Thanks for meeting me.”

“Of course.” The investigator shifted in her seat, leaning away from the table. “What’s up?”

“What do you remember?” Mel asked, a little hoarse. 

“Everything,” replied the investigator, without hesitation. “It’s a little confusing, sometimes, but if I focus… I can pick out each memory. Except for how I woke up in a hospital. Greta didn’t remember, either.”

Mel winced, nearly nauseous about having to confess to this sin again, even if it belonged to Macy this time. The sickness helped fortify her resolve, and so did a bite of bagel. “The demon that I was protecting you from, Alister. He unleashed the Harbinger of Hell, and Hilltowne… There was an outbreak of possession. After we defeated him, Macy wiped the town’s memory.”

Brown eyes studied her, growing sharper by the second, or maybe clearer. “There was something before that. I remember making it back to my apartment, and then my nose was bleeding. I must have passed out, right?”

“I don’t know. They brought you into the hospital while we were there for the Harbinger victims. Your brain was being overloaded by the memories, and… then Greta took off the ring, exposing you to the infection. So you got a little of both.”

Niko’s gaze flickered to the rosewood ring, and her throat bobbed with a heavy gulp. “She told me, I could wear one of the rings, but not both.”

And there it was again: That scraping, burnt feeling of  _ what if this is wrong _ and  _ why am I even doing this _ blazing a hole through her chest. She stopped fighting the stinging tears, instead wiping at them with a napkin from under the paper bag. She had the distinct feeling of stumbling down a steep hill, grasping at nothing to hold her back from what lay at the bottom. 

“Should I keep wearing it?” Niko’s tone was nigh inscrutable, which seemed worse than if it had been angry, or even sad. She was in cop mode, like a fighter raising a shield. They both knew that wasn’t the question she was actually asking. They both knew why Mel was crying.

“If you’re going to stay in Hilltowne, then yes,” replied the witch shakily. “But Niko…”

The words were  _ right _ there. She could  _ hear _ them, her inner self practically screaming the sentences for want of getting this moment done and over with, to rip off the bandage and take whatever pain lay in store. That way, she could begin to get over it all over again. After her mistakes made to avoid one loss, she’d now suffer it twice. 

“You have to say it, Mel,” challenged them taller woman, quietly, as the silence dragged on too long. “This has been our problem since we met. No more cheating, no more lies, or changing the time-space continuum—just say it.”

“We can’t be together.” The words crawled and stumbled out of her mouth, and she saw the moment Niko’s burgeoning anger deflated to a sort of withered exhaustion. “And not just because it’s dangerous.”

Something in the air shifted. Maybe both of them thought it had been a bluff, and Mel would back down before this moment… but here they were, silent on either side of a small metal table. Niko spun her own coffee cup in one hand for awhile, considering it calmly even as her cheeks and eyes reddened. 

“When I thought you were in danger, my principles, my morality—just faded to nothing. I would have done  _ anything _ to save you.” Mel sucked in a breath, momentarily jolted by the memory of her fear, her panic after the demonfire attack at Hunter’s cabin. “But I’m a Charmed One, and I… I’ve learned what this power means. I can’t do that anymore, lose myself like that. I can’t promise I won’t hurt you again, trying to save you.” 

“‘It’s not you, it’s me’, really?” Niko’s voice was strained, but the words held no real bite.

Mel let it slide, knowing Niko’s defense mechanisms too well to take that bait. Instead, she wiped at her cheeks and pressed on, “I’m so sorry, Niko.”

This time, they both let the heavy silence drag, and with each second the looming gap between them seemed to drift wider, securing the decision, but growing ever more physically wrenching. Mel wanted to crawl out of her skin and melt through the storm drain, but then Niko gulped and began, “You know, when I saw you, I looked at this ring, and for some reason…” The taller woman gave a firm shake of her head. “I got nervous, thinking about not having this when you’re around. That you could freeze me and do something to my head again.”

Despite the fresh wave of guilt that caused, it was fair. Mel waited. 

“And I also realize that if I’m cheating on Greta in two different realities… calling off the wedding was the right thing to do in both, regardless of… you.”

_ No more “us”.  _ The time witch offered a nod. It was all she had to give.

Niko’s hand twitched up and down, like she was about to reach across the table, but unlike every other time Mel secretly wanted it to happen, the palm just flattened on the metal. Her other hand wiped at her cheeks, and she seemed to straighten her spine. “I do love you, Mel. Whatever timeline. I don’t know if I’ll ever love anyone like I loved you.”

_ Me too, _ was what she wanted to say, but instead she said nothing at all. Pain was coiling in her belly, a fiery, needling ball that ignited at the way Niko pushed away from the table, gathering her trash. 

“I guess, um… I’m probably going to leave town, check out Ann Arbor, maybe. Fresh start. I’ll mail the ring, okay?” she said flatly.

“Yeah, sure.” Mel stood, cautious, and they considered each other for a moment before coming together for a final hug, sharing in the grief that’d plagued them both for too long. Neither of them had known it at the time, but the moment Marisol began the process of unbinding her daughters’ powers, their relationship had been doomed. The human lovers in the witch stories never fared well for a reason.

When they parted and walked away from each other, the scorching fire in Mel’s torso blinked out, a star imploding into darkness, and some part of her went numb in a way she wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to get back. 


	2. Call Your Girlfriend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Tell her not to get upset, second-guessing everything you said and done_   
>  _And then when she gets upset tell her how you never mean to hurt no one_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tapping into my decade+ spent watching Shondaland.
> 
> Yes, I realize this hope was unreasonable. Chapter set to the tune of "Call Your Girlfriend" the aw (Allison Weiss on Spotify) version.

It really was a beautiful wedding. 

The ceremony was at a private venue along the river, a little ways outside of town. They’d constructed a white flower archway for the brides, with an older woman officiant smiling between them and the wedding party in light coral outfits to either side. Greta wore a cream-white three-piece suit with red rose in the jacket pocket, accompanied by a sprig of white baby’s breath. The rest of the decorations fit along that palette, bouquets of flowers on every row of white wooden folding chairs, the long coral fabric acting as a runner rug for the aisle. The guests were all in their summer best, seersucker and cotton in pastels, old ladies wearing huge hats. 

And Niko—Mel had seen this version of Niko only in her daydreams before, in a white sheath dress with plunging neckline. Her dark hair was perfectly tamed and curled, one side tucked immovably behind her ear, the other arcing away from her jawline like a 1920s movie star. 

Begging Harry to transport her to the wedding while Macy still had The Source had been risky, but this was too important to skip when she had just seconds of peace. Freezing the entire wedding was riskier, but she somehow  _ knew _ it would work—that the most important person would turn and look at her while everyone else went silent. 

Even to her wedding, Niko had worn the rosewood ring.  _ Mel’s _ ring. 

“Mel?” The bride barely breathed the word loud enough for her to hear, but she didn’t need to, anyway. 

The time witch left Harry at the back of the ceremony to walk haltingly towards the front, hands out at her sides. “Just hear me out, Niko, and… and then decide what you want to do. Just don’t—don’t get  _ married _ without talking to me about this.”

“About  _ what?” _

“You know what.”

A scoff. “Yeah, I know that you violated my trust, and my life. I’m barely even sure what’s real about Greta anymore, much less… you and me.”

There it was—a small crack, maybe invisible if not for the light shining through it. Mel lifted her hands to put them over her chest. “And I’m sorry. I’m never going to be able to make that up to you. I’m so sorry, Niko.”

Silence, for a time, as they considered each other. The sun waned in the sky, a golden hour wedding, bathing the frozen ceremony and its guests in orange and pink hues. Niko seemed to glow, all righteous fire and conflictedness, maybe a little glitter in her makeup, and Mel briefly forgot how to breathe. 

“It’s not that simple,” sighed the bride, finally, and despite the actual words, Mel sensed the tone was the crack widening. 

“I know.”

Niko’s brows knitted, and she took a step forward, leaving Greta’s frozen face looking at nothing. “Where have you  _ been? _ I’m at the altar, for chrissakes, Mel.”

“I’m sorry, I know. I’m  _ sorry.” _ Mel dared take a few more steps herself, close enough now they could speak in normal tones. “There was kind of this whole Harbinger thing—I’ll explain it all later, I promise.”

“Then what did you come here to say  _ now?” _

The witch looked out over the water, breathing deep of the clean air, and then determinedly met Niko’s eyes again. “What I did to you was a violation, and if you never forgive me, I’d understand. There hasn’t been a single day since that I haven’t missed you, wondered if you were okay. The spell was my first mistake, and the mistake I kept making after that was not telling you what I did.” She risked another step forward. “But I love you, Niko Hamada, and I know it’ll take time. I want to show you that we can be… what we were  _ meant _ to be. Before I fucked it all up.”

That last part was far less eloquent than she’d intended, but it also wasn’t wrong.

Niko had tears running down her cheeks, mascara still flawless, and she sucked in a harsh breath before her shoulders slumped forward, head dropping. As delicately as she could, Mel met her halfway, draping her arms around the veil and dress to let Niko rest her chin on her shoulder. 

“I love you. Come back to me?”

The bouquet hit the ground with a soft, almost imperceptible noise, and Niko pulled her head up just enough to capture Mel’s lips in a kiss. Unlike the one they’d shared what seemed like decades ago, interrupted by Maggie, this kiss was like kissing  _ her _ Niko again, unburdened by the lies that had threatened to end them forever. Mel lifted her hands to cup Niko’s jaw, drawing her closer, lips parting for tongues, and it wasn’t until the investigator groaned softly that they remembered where they were. 

Niko swiped at her cheeks, her makeup impressively intact and still on  _ her _ face. Whatever super waterproof type,  _ that _ was going to be hell to clean off later. “I still have to… handle this.”

Nodding, Mel considered the frozen Greta, offering silent apologies for the moments to come. She then moved again to the back of the wedding, where a proudly smiling Harry rocked on his heels as she approached. His eyebrows waggled. 

“Shut up,” she grumbled, still smiling, and after Niko resumed her pose up front, she released the freeze.

And now, all eyes were on the brides, camera flashes going off as if nothing had just happened. The officiant brightly finished her sentence, “...or forever hold your peace.”

There was a beat, and then Mel’s heart faltered when Niko held up a hand, stopping the woman from continuing the ceremony. A small, collective gasp went up from the crowd, and then voices rose in confusion. Poor Greta’s face began to redden. 

“I’m sorry,” called Niko, looking around the audience and then to her now ex-fiancé. “I’m so sorry, Greta. I can’t do this. I have to go. We… We can talk about this later. I’m sorry.”

To her credit, the short-haired brunette looked devastated, but not surprised. She gave a sharp nod, her eyes finding Mel at the back of the ceremony for the first time. They were pained, but not hateful. Mel nodded to her. 

But then Niko was hiking up the front of her dress, yanking off her heels, and hurrying down the aisle—towards Mel, whose lungs were suddenly devoid of air as a white-dress Niko Hamada moved through the afternoon light towards her, veil falling to the ground in a flutter of wispy white. The taller woman grabbed her hand without stopping, and then they were kicking up dirt and grass as they ran towards the trees with Harry trailing behind. 


	3. Just Like Heaven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Spinning on that dizzy edge_   
>  _Kissed her face and kissed her head_   
>  _Dreamed of all the different ways I had to make her glow_   
>  _Why are you so far away she said_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fine, they like The Cure!

After getting the satyr and their new menagerie of magical beings back in the house, Mel thought the excitement of her day was already well established—so she didn’t think twice before answering an insistent knock at the door, barely even paying attention as she yanked it open, until behind her, Maggie gasped.

“What the  _ fuck, _ Mel?”

_ Oh no. _ The time witch startled, nearly tripping backwards, and snapped her eyes up to see Niko, red cheeked, both arms out from her sides in the unmistakable body language of a desperate question. 

“You stood me up  _ again.” _

“I didn’t, I was… I thought you understood,” finished Mel weakly, a hand already coming to partially cover her face. She could  _ hear _ the audience gathering behind her, little taps of hooves on the ground, tiny whispers. 

If Niko noticed any of the undeniably odd onlookers, she barely acknowledged them. “Understood  _ what, _ Mel? There’s nothing  _ to _ understand.”

“Uh, Mel?” offered Maggie, as sweetly as possible. “You told us you were going to  _ talk _ to Niko.”

The investigator looked over at the younger Vera, shaking her head. “She-she  _ waved _ at me from across the street, and then Bourne Identity-d herself away behind a van!”

The magical creatures huffed and groaned disapprovingly together  _ (“Not cool,” muttered the satyr),  _ and Mel wanted nothing more than for the portal to Hell to open again and swallow her up. “Okay, please come inside, Niko. The rest of you: Show’s over.”

There was more noisy disappointment, but Macy did successfully herd them into the next rooms to give the two some degree of privacy. 

As soon as they were alone, Niko pinned her with those eyes, arms crossed, eyebrows raised. “What. The. Fuck?”

“I know, I know—I’m sorry.”

“After  _ everything _ we’ve been through together.”

“I thought it would be easier that way.”

_ “Stop _ doing these things that involve me  _ without _ finding out what  _ I _ think will be easier or right, Mel!” snapped the investigator, voice spiking. “And I want to  _ talk _ about this.”

Sighing, Mel held up her hands in the surrender pose, brows knitting in anticipation, like a prisoner awaiting a punishing blow. The motion surprised herself; she’d already spent some time closing that door in her mind, or perhaps more accurately, shoving it shut like an overflowing suitcase. This was the zipper bursting open. She let it happen.

“First, how dare you.” Niko held up an accusatory finger. “Just, all of it—how  _ dare _ you.”

That wasn’t as bad as she’d imagined. The time witch risked a nod. “That’s fair.”

“Second, I’m still  _ pissed _ at you… and I’m not sure I trust you, after the timeline thing. You messed with my entire life, Mel. You lied to me about Trip, about who you were—about everything.” Niko took in a long, heavy breath before adding, “And third, I still fucking  _ love _ you, Melanie Vera. I want you, to  _ be with you, _ and we’ll work on the rest of it together. Please?”

_ Oh. _ Mel stared up into determined, but desperate eyes. “I can’t drag you into—“

“I’m  _ in it, _ Mel,” countered the investigator. “I live over a portal to Hell, and I’m pretty sure I saw a druid in your house just now, so tell me how I’m  _ not _ in it.”

The resistant voices in her mind were quieting, but Niko had to know“No, Galvin  _ died. _ We’re not talking hypotheticals, Niko. He’s dead, he sacrificed himself, because of  _ us.” _

“Because he made a  _ choice. _ There’s nothing you can do about  _ his _ choice, but I think you’ve already learned that lesson?”

Mel’s teeth clicked shut, and the sting of those words bordered on physical, but Niko’s hand, adorned in the rosewood ring, moved cautiously to her shoulder, gripping lightly. 

“If it’s a choice between a death alongside the people I love, the  _ person I love, _ or a life never knowing what we could have been… That’s my choice to make, Mel. And if you want me, too, I’m ready for whatever the universe throws at us. That’s my choice. You. I’ve  _ missed you.” _

And that was it. Somewhere in her chest, a dam broke, and Mel was  _ done _ fighting it. She’d told herself no at every turn, so afraid of rejection, of having opened a wound that would never close. But here was Niko Hamada in the flesh,  _ asking _ for this. Asking for a  _ them, _ again. Mel was moving before her brain truly caught up with the plot, and their lips came crashing together again, arms around necks and shoulders and chests crushed together. It felt  _ too good _ to stop resisting. Everything was finally in the open, and Niko’s body was warm and  _ real _ against hers. 

She didn’t notice their feet leaving the floor, nor the purple light that had sprung up around them. Whatever was left of her conscious mind accepted that the record player kicked itself on, launching into  _ Just Like Heaven _ by The Cure. She couldn’t really pay attention to any of these things, not with Niko’s tongue slipping into her mouth, the strong hand sliding down her back to keep her close, and the absolute relief flooding her veins, righteous and cleansing.

_ “Show me how you do it, and I promise you, I promise that I'll run away with you…” _

It wasn’t until a soft clearing of the throat from nearby that the connection broke, and Niko startled, gripping Mel’s shoulders tightly as they simultaneously realized they were floating in the middle of the foyer, surrounded by a lilac light that shimmered and moved with their limbs. 

“Finally!” Maggie called up, and Macy gave a couple claps before the full audience of magical creatures joined in, hooting and stomping their feet. Harry gave a solid  _ here, here! _ and the satyr bleated, tongue out, and it was all absurd—but compared to the year she’d just had, Mel would take this type of strangeness every day. 

Niko’s cheeks were bright red when she lifted her head to look at her, and Mel kissed the tip of her nose, then murmured, “I love you. Welcome back.”

“Thanks. Now, think you can put us down without—“ The investigator yelped as they hit the ground, Macy and Maggie steadying them as the houseguests surrounded the renewed couple, all pats on the shoulder and lecherous jokes. Mel smiled through it all, her hand tucked securely into Niko’s. 

_ “You, soft and only. You, lost and lonely. You, just like heaven.” _

**Author's Note:**

> yell at me on tumblr [@trashyeggroll](https://trashyeggroll.tumblr.com/)


End file.
